


Defending Boundaries

by predilection



Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers Dino Charge
Genre: Boundaries, Fix-It, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-28
Updated: 2015-11-28
Packaged: 2018-05-03 20:49:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5306273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/predilection/pseuds/predilection
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A fix-it fic for episode 19 in which Kendall yells at Dr. Runga for being a creep.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Defending Boundaries

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: This fic deals with boundaries being violated, and someone attempting to reassert them.
> 
> For a full explanation on what this fix-it fic is fixing, please check out [this post](http://hunterbradley.tumblr.com/post/133767727017/okay-so-this-episode-made-me-really-uncomfortable). 
> 
> Basically, in episode 19, we meet a character named Dr. Runga who is one of Shelby's heroes. However, he is anything but heroic. He doesn't give Shelby the time of day until he realizes she may have a video of a dinosaur. Then he stalks her around town. When he finds her, he tells her that he wants to give her his autograph and tells her to find a pen. She's excited and goes to find one, but while her back is turned, he takes her phone, goes through her files and sends her video of the dinosaur to himself. When she comes back, pen in hand, he's gone. He then attempts to release the video he stole from her to the press in hopes that it will make him more famous than he already is. 
> 
> This deliberate and frankly disgusting invasion of her privacy was never addressed in the show. In fact, instead of punishing Dr. Runga for his actions, the show rewarded him by making him privy to the rangers' secret identities. The episode ended with Shelby telling Dr. Runga that she was proud of him, even though he hurt her. 
> 
> I wrote this fic because this episode left a bad taste in my mouth. I wanted someone to call out Dr. Runga for what he did to Shelby. I chose Kendall for this job because I like it when women stand up for each other.

It happens when Kendall is attending a paleontology conference in Washington. 

After lecture on feathered dinosaurs, but before Kendall can get up from her seat in the auditorium, someone stands directly in front of her and blocks her light. She looks up, and it takes her only a second to recognize the man standing before her as the world famous paleontologist Dr. Runga.

"You're Kendall Morgan from Amber Beach Dinosaur Museum, are you not?" he asks.

Kendall, recalling Dr. Runga's recent encounter with the rangers and his encounter with Shelby in particular, experiences a sudden rush of anger. She hesitates before answering, "I am."

Dr. Runga reaches into his laptop bag, pulls out a book and thrusts it in Kendall's face. It's a new copy of his latest book and his signature is scrawled across the front cover in black ink. "Could you pass this along to an employee of yours named 'Shelby Watkins'? Some time ago she asked for my autograph but I was unable to give it to her."

Kendall realizes that she's gripping her tablet so hard that her fingers are turning white so she puts it down on her lap. 

She doesn't take his book. Instead, she levels a glare at him. 

"Shelby told me why you didn't give her your autograph," she says angrily. 

"Excuse me?" Dr. Runga asks.

"If I recall correctly, you offered her your autograph and sent her in search of a pen so she would leave her belongings unattended. Then you used that as an opportunity to gain access to her phone and sent yourself a video you found on it. You left with her data before she returned with the pen, and the next time you met, you were trying to release her stolen data to the public."

Dr. Runga's nostrils flare. "I apologized to her!"

His words only enrage Kendall further and she sounds as furious as she feels when she shouts, "You apologized for being motivated by your drive to be famous! You did _not_ apologize for stealing personal data off a mobile device belonging to an 18 year old woman!"

Dr. Runga opens his mouth like he's going to yell, but then he closes it quickly, hissing out a breath. "I brought this to thank her," he says through gritted teeth, shaking the book that's still in his hands.

Kendall hates that he doesn't seem to get that what he did to Shelby crossed all sorts of lines. 

"You deliberately violated her privacy for your own personal gain!" Kendall shouts, rising to her feet and tucking her tablet under her arm. "She admired you, and you used that against her!"

"How dare you--" Dr. Runga begins, but Kendall takes a step closer to him and points her index finger in his face cutting him off.

"How dare _you_ do what you did! What you did to Shelby was inexcusable! Stay away from her and don't you ever -- and I mean _ever_ \-- do what you did to her to anyone else!"

Dr. Runga takes a step backwards, and suddenly his eyes go wide. He looks frightened. She thinks he's afraid of her, but then she notices that he's looking around the room and she becomes aware of the fact that they've attracted a small audience. She realizes that he's probably scared that their conversation will negatively impact his reputation, and her opinion of him manages to plummet even further.

Kendall turns her back to him and as she makes to leave, he says, "I'll tell everyone." It takes her a moment to figure out that he's talking about the rangers' civilian identities. 

She rolls her eyes, unconcerned. Even if he told someone, she knows it's unlikely anyone would believe him. The idea of power rangers working at a museum sounds ridiculous which is one of the reasons why she made it their cover story in the first place. 

That he has threatened to share something this important simply because she called him out on his behavior merely confirms what she already knew about him.

Conscious of their spectators, she looks over her shoulder at him, raises an eyebrow and asks, "Tell everyone what? That you're a creep?" Then, head held high, she cuts through the crowd around them and walks straight out the door.


End file.
